Lost in the victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday, the highest ranked team Nebraska has defeated since 2001, was how terrible the defense played.
That was the worst defensive performance since Bo Pelini took over at Nebraska.
Yes, they allowed 52 points to Missouri back in 2008, but that was a much more potent offense and the expectation level wasn’t as high for Pelini’s defense as it is now. Saturday was worse.
The Cowboys, in the first half especially, did pretty much whatever they wanted, with little resistance offered from the vaunted Blackshirts.
They ran the ball for 212 yards, threw it for 283 yards, and rang up 41 points (27 in the first half).
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The amount of passing yards is very surprising. I’ve referred to the secondary all year as professional quality. This is the first game of the year they haven’t resembled so. They even found room to throw against Prince Amukamara, who fell in CBSsportsline.com’s 2011 NFL Draft rankings from #1 to #2. Tragic.
The less surprising, but more concerning, result is the rushing yards. Teams have found running room on the Blackshirts all season, especially out of a spread formation.
This is my number one fear for the big showdown against Missouri coming up in two days. The Tigers were able to rack up 178 rushing yards on the Oklahoma Sooners, something they weren’t able to do in years past.
My biggest hope in stopping that from happening on Saturday? Gary Pinkel’s ineptitude really. I’m hoping he arrogantly decides, which is how he oftentimes makes decisions, that they need to win the game by throwing the ball around, especially after watching what Oklahoma St. accomplished this past week.
I’m gonna tell you right now, Missouri has to run the ball, and run it effectively, to win this game.
The Husker secondary will have something to prove this upcoming week. They haven’t been thrown on like that all season. They boast four players with professional potential.
Talent + motivation = results.
Last year this defense was the exact blueprint of how to shut down a spread offense, so what has been the difference?
The defensive line. Everybody assumed that the defensive line would be just as good as last year. This was either a case of blind optimism or complete ignorance, or maybe a combination of both. But, we lost the best defensive talent College Football has seen in at least a decade!
Ndamukong the Great was replaced with Crick the Good. This isn’t Crick’s fault. He’s been somewhat of a disappointment only due to outlandish expectations placed on him before the season. The bigger disappointment has been Pierre Allen. What happened to him? The second best defensive lineman on the team has been sophomore Cameron Meredith (even without his mustache).
The downgrade in defensive line play has allowed teams to find holes in the running game when spreading the defense out, and has allowed opposing quarterbacks more time to find open receivers down field.
Pelini must adjust. He prefers to sit in his base defense and dare the offense to try and beat them. It has proven successful, but this isn’t the weekend for stubbornness. I would try to confuse Gabbert by throwing in some exotic blitzes.
The keys to the game on Saturday I have listed so far read as follows: Secondary play up to their potential. Find a way to shut down the spread offense running game. Confuse Gabbert with blitzes.
My biggest key to the game on Saturday is red zone defense. Missouri is great at moving the ball up and down the field, but can struggle in the red zone once the field shrinks. Also, Coach Pinkelnuts oftentimes goes 5 wide in goal-to-go situations, which is so idiotic that I don’t have enough time to properly explain.
If the Blackshirts hold the Tigers to field goals, the Huskers will win the game. Book it.